The Different Types of Coffee Beans

Gilbert PattersonNovember 20, 2018November 18, 2018Comments Off on The Different Types of Coffee Beans

The demand for coffee is on the rise not only in the United States but across the world. Many people love taking a cup of coffee the first thing they wake up and the last thing before retiring to bed. Others love serving coffee at a coffee shop. But have you ever asked yourself the bean that makes your favorite coffee outstanding? Well, it goes without saying that when we taste something delicious, we tend to forget its origin. However, if you’d like to know the source of the great taste in your coffee, here are different types of coffee beans you should know about.

Arabica – Coffee Arabica

Arabica is the most common coffee bean in the world accounting for more than 70% of the world’s coffee production. Arabica beans can be found in areas with a plentiful amount of shade, even rainfall, and high altitude areas. The trees of Arabica are short making it easy to prune and equally easy to harvest. When compared to other coffee beans, Arabica is the most delicate one and it’s highly influenced by its environment as well as its vulnerability to disease. This means that farming of Arabica should be done with lots of care and if you plant it in areas with unfavorable conditions, it could require double efforts to keep it healthy.

Being a common coffee bean, Arabica is usually grown in large scale although it makes the plants more vulnerable to a massive outbreak of diseases like blight. High-quality Arabica beans are distinguished with their satisfying level of acidity, soft taste, bright body, and more pleasing aromatic and flavor properties. If you are a coffee lover, buy an Arabica coffee with full body and lower acidity and if you want to enjoy it, serve it when hot as the quality of Arabica bean reduces when served cold.

Robusta – Coffee canephora

Robusta is the second most produced coffee bean in the world. Robusta is immune from disease, highly tolerant to its environment, withstands different attitudes but thrives in the hot climate with irregular rainfall. The amount of caffeine in Robusta is twice that found in Arabica and this proves why Robusta bean survives in harsh conditions because caffeine offers a self-defense mechanism that helps the plant to resist diseases. This means that Robusta plants are easy to grow and maintain.

High-quality Robusta beans are associated with low acidity, smooth texture and a chocolate flavor. When buying Robusta coffee to brew at home, check the information on how it was grown. This is because some farmers grew Robusta in unfavorable conditions thus producing a sub-standard product. If you realize that Robusta has a rubbery taste or flat smell, it means that it has been grown in unfavorable climates.

Liberica – Coffee liberica

Liberica is not very common but has a vital place in the history of coffee in the world. In 1890, more than 90% of Arabica stock in the world was wiped out by coffee rust. The government agents joined hands with farmers in search of a solution which happened to be Liberica plant. Philistines tried it and the results were overwhelming and the country’s economy grew exceedingly. Due to a quarrel between the U.S and the Philistines, the U.S decided to cut supplies off including coffee but Liberica made a coffee world comeback in 1995.

Liberica beans are asymmetrical in shape and are distinguished by their larger and irregular shape. Different coffee lovers have different taste when it comes to Liberica; whereas some say that it has a ‘woody’ taste, others say that it comes with a unique aroma that comprise of fruity and floral notes.

Excelsa – Coffee excelsa

Excelsa has recently been reclassified as a Liberica family member. It grows like Liberica on large 20-30 ft trees which made the coffee community rename the plant as a genus of Liberica. The seeds are distinguished by their almond-like shape and the plant grows excellently in Southeast Asia and accounts for 7% of worlds coffee circulation. They produce a tart and fruity body flavors and in order to have an outstanding tasting experience, it’s advisable to use it in blends to get the taste you’ve always wanted.

Final thoughts

It goes without saying that there are different types of coffee beans in the world. However, many coffee lovers cannot tell the difference and only brew the coffee they find in the market. The two main types of coffee beans are coffee Robusta and coffee Arabica. Depending on your taste, you can use either as long as it meets your expectations, or even blend both beans. It’s worth understanding that the four coffee beans taste differently based on how and where they are grown.